The biggest news involving Scandal during the off-season was in fact a real life scandal. Columbus Short who played Harrison was arrested for domestic violence and subsequently fired from the show. But if you ask him, he will say that he walked away from the series and was not fired. Regardless of him quitting or not, he was not coming back. So, it was a guessing game as to how they would write this into the Season Premiere when addressing this. I for one thought it would be something small, something in passing, much like how they got rid of Henry Ian Cusick's character from Season 1. I couldn't have been further off the mark. Killing off Harrison was a major plot point and his funeral was actually used as the catalyst of bring back the gang, who had been scattered in the wind in the events at the end of Season 3. So, I will give them props in the writing department for that and for not going the easy route.

Best part about this one was Mellie. She is the most interesting character on the show right now because she is always unpredictable. Her mourning in the public eye and how she chooses to deal with the negativity made for a couple of great scenes. As for the rest of the episode.....fairly predictable. I'm sick of the whole will they/won't they story regarding Olivia and the Prez. It's over and done with. Move on. On the other hand, it's still anyone'e guess if Huck and Quinn get back together or torture each other. Cyrus looks ridiculous with his toupee. Get rid of it already.

An okay episode that is more of the same. Not much to say other than I did like the last scene between Jake and Olivia's father about the fact that he has proof that he was behind the murder of the Presidents son as well as the murder of Harrison. This pretty much seals Jake's fate with his 'blackmail' threat. I can't see Rowan suddenly becoming sloppy and getting taken out by Jake. We shall see.........

After the past couple of episodes, I was growing concerned that the show had lost its mojo. But after this episode, we finally get an episode worthy of the name Scandal. One of the best episodes ever for the series and it was f*cking juicy from start to finish. Not sure what my favorite scene was. There are 3 to choose from. There is the scene between the President and the First Lady wherein he reads her the riot act about her "parenting" skills that cuts to the bone. There is the scene between Olivia and the Parents that are blackmailing the President to the tune of $2.5 million to keep them from releasing his daughters sex tape. Watching Olivia go from 0-60 in the blink of an eye was f*cking awesome. Seeing her tear the parents up was great. But the final scene between Rowan and Agent Tom was probably the crowning moment when he interrogates Tom with veiled threats that he got him to lay the blame on Jake as the man that ordered the assassination of the Presidents son. The demise of Scandal was greatly exaggerated. Welcome back!! Bonus points for Quinn's "interrogation" method when confronting one of the boys that made the sex tape.

Nice followup to last weeks epic episode. I did enjoy Jake basically running his own interrogation with the man that was put in charge of him. He never stood a chance of succeeding in breaking Jake. But I do think the idea of the President coming down and beating him to a bloody pulp to get a confession out of him was a bit laughable for a couple of reasons. One, you can't break Jake and two, if you're gonna use muscle to break up, do it with someone that actually weighs more than a buck fifty. So, it looks like Abby and Liv have made up. Kinda. I thought it was great that she went to Liv's to call her all sorts of names and ends up comforting her when she revealed that Jake had a hand in killing Harrison and the Presidents son. It was great seeing Jasika Nicole returning as Huck's estranged wife. I love me some Jasika any and all times.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Joe Morton is the REAL star of Scandal. In the first two seasons, it was definitely Kerry Washington carrying the show. But ever since Joe's character Rowan has risen to greater heights, it's been a "what will he do next" guessing game. Two more great scenes for Rowan opposite President Fitz as he played him like a fiddle and opposite Jake. Jake is never one to be speechless and certainly not scared. But as Rowan laid down the law of what he planned to do with him showed a man with fear on his face. Give Joe an Emmy nomination for this season. The 'Lone Assassin' plot of the previous President was predictable. I saw it coming the moment he begged Olivia to "find the truth". I knew he was playing her just so that he could get his name right next to John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Another Huck moment. I thought it was very out of character and odd that Huck was suddenly playing video games when he should be working. The fact that he was VERY invested in the game was what was throwing me off. But the reveal at the end was totally worth it when we finally see that he was playing with his Son online as a way to bond with him. Very cool.

Best part about this one was the revelation that Olivia orchestrated the "assassination" of Secret Service Agent Tom, just to bluff him into think that Rowan, her father was the one behind the hit. Worked like a charm as he couldn't fast enough it exonerating Jake. Also liked seeing Huck's son tracking him down at work and telling him he knows he is his father. Abby's meltdown was pretty intense.

A few standout moments in this one. Huck kills a man while on the job, but the horror is realizing that his Son just watched him do it. Father of the Year!!! Mellie finally gets hers and shacks up with her long lost love.....The Vice President. I immediately began thinking of what it was going to be like when she rubbed it in Fitz's face. Tit for tat if you will. But it turns out that the VP is banging Elizabeth North. Did not see that coming. But the best was the last and that was Rowan. Even though I knew HE knew that Olivia was setting him up, it was still great seeing him turn the tables on her. So, who is the mole that stole the files and tipped him off? Who knows.

Pretty good mid-season finale that has all but guaranteed that fans will return to see what the f*ck just happened. The cliffhanger was that Olivia was kidnapped and it's implied (by way of editing) that the Vice President is behind this. I'm sure it is him because of all the evidence pointing at him: the staged "terrorist" car bombing he orchestrated in order to get the Prez to declare war and the surveillance photos of Oilvia. So yeah, he definitely kidnapped her and will use her to blackmail the Prez to get what he wants. Best scene of the episode once again goes to Joe Morton. He monologue was eletric and testing Olivia's "loyalty" was electrifying to say the least.

Very solid episode that kept me on the edge of my seat in spite of knowing full well that Olivia's "cellmate" would turn out to be the Big Bad. It SCREAMED that he would be behind it all and I knew that he would be behind the Red Door when she finally "escaped". Even though I knew everything that would come, it didn't lessen the intensity at all. Obviously I would have liked to have some surprises waiting for me, but that's the nature of the beast of writing similar scenes myself. Eh.

Well, the President finally learns the truth behind Olivia's kidnapping, that the Vice President is in fact the one orchestrating it all, just so that he can get his war and lay the ground work so that he can ascend to the Presidency himself. Very elaborate plan. Just one problem with that though. He forgot that he is dealing with Olivia "Motherf*cking" Pope! I love how she was finally able to manipulate her kidnapper into selling her off the highest bidder. She played him good. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

With Olivia Pope being kidnapped, it has definitely give the series a shot in the arm that it needed. Taking her out of Washington DC has probably been the best thing to happen to Scandal for quite some time. She is still Olivia Pope and her speech to the 2 other kidnappers was pretty epic and vintage pope. I actually thought she was going to convince them to work with her instead of against her. She had me convinced. Huck is on the verge of meltdown mode. I don't what to think about him. Did he hack up a roomful of thugs because he needed proof, or is it more than that and he actually enjoys this sh*t? Whichever it is, it's clear that he is spiraling downward and I don't see a happy end for him on the show. I like that Mellie finally confessed that she wants to be the next POTUS. So, if the show hangs around long enough, the writers just gave us a bit of insight into where the show could go and too will keep Fitz "in Office", making it see the same as before, but just with reversed power positions.

It's very rare that I am ever pleasantly surprised by something that happens on this or any show because there are too many spoilers out there or I have the misfortune of seeing a name in the opening credits that could potentially ruin a big moment. This episode was all about the Olivia Pope auction and just who would win her and exploit her to their benefit. When the Russians beat out Huck and company as the highest bidder, I really didn't know what was about to transpire. At the delivery sight to hand Olivia over to the Winner, out steps......Stephen, played by Henry Ian Cusick. This was literally a jaw-dropping moment for me and every other Scandal fan because his character was written off the show after the first season to my dismay. I never expected to see him return at all. This clearly is a one-time cameo, but it was a monster of a Grand Slam moment. Very, very cool moment. I loved that he was able to save her, repaying her for doing the same for him years ago. I'm even more in shocked that I didn't hear a single thing about this as I'm 4 episodes behind in catching up with Scandal. So, this is old news as the episode aired over a month ago.